Chapter 333– The Domineering CEO’s Little Sweetheart – How to Escape (10)
That evening, Bai Tang went back to his room early and hurried out to the balcony, looking out and waiting for Xi Yuanhan to arrive.
He gazed for a long time; the moon had already climbed high into the sky, and the night breeze gently brushed across his face.
Like a small squirrel turned into a stone of longing, he had kept that same expectant posture for quite a while.
Qiu’er said with concern, “Why don’t you go back to your room first? If the male lead doesn’t come, you can’t just stay up all night~”
“He will come. A Han will come. I can feel it—he’ll be back~” Bai Tang insisted.
At eleven o’clock that night, Xi Yuanhan finally appeared within Bai Tang’s sight.
The boy’s face lit up with joy. He spun around and ran downstairs, hurriedly opening the front door just as Xi Yuanhan arrived.
“A Han~” The boy threw himself at the man, almost knocking him off balance.
Xi Yuanhan caught Bai Tang and steadied himself.
“I’m here. Sorry for keeping you waiting, Tang Tang.”
“It’s not late~ Are you hungry? I asked Aunt Zhang to save you some supper.” Bai Tang tugged Xi Yuanhan into the kitchen.
Gao Hong came out to get a drink of water. Seeing the light coming from the kitchen, he walked over and peeked through the crack of the door. Inside, an adult man and Bai Tang were laughing together. After the food was reheated in the microwave, the man took it out, and the two shared it, feeding each other bite by bite.
The warm scene imprinted itself in Gao Hong’s eyes. Having grown up surrounded by deceit and power struggles beside Gao Li, he found it hard to describe the strange, bittersweet feeling that rose in his chest.
Ever since he came to the Bai household and experienced a kind of warmth he’d never known before, the balance in his heart had slowly begun to tip.
“Hey, what are you looking at?” A hand patted Gao Hong’s shoulder from behind.
He turned around—it was Liang Shaomei.
She looked toward the kitchen and whispered, “Oh, Xi Yuanhan’s back. He’s one of us. Don’t worry, go get some sleep.”
Liang Shaomei mentally gave Gao Hong a few points of credit. Though the man was a bit slow-witted, he was dutiful—he came to check the noise after all.
“All right, that’s enough looking. Let’s go.” Liang Shaomei pulled Gao Hong away.
Inside the kitchen, Bai Tang, his cheeks puffed out with food, smiled at Xi Yuanhan. The latter brushed his thumb gently across the corner of Bai Tang’s lips, wiping away a bit of leftover sauce.
“This is really good~” Bai Tang said, picking up some vegetables with his chopsticks and placing them into Xi Yuanhan’s bowl.
Xi Yuanhan smiled as he ate the food. After they had eaten their fill, he washed the dishes, then took Bai Tang to wash his hands before they both went upstairs to bathe and brush their teeth.
By the time everything was done and they could finally sleep, it was already one-thirty in the morning.
The two lay on the bed, the boy wrapping his arms around the man’s arm, and soon drifted off to sleep.
From then on, Xi Yuanhan came back almost every night to stay with Bai Tang—those were the moments Bai Tang looked forward to the most.
Days passed, seemingly calm on the surface, but beneath that calm, turbulent currents were stirring.
Gradually, Xi Yuanhan’s visits became less frequent. Perhaps his disguise was too perfect—Gao Li began to value him more and more, allowing him access to the central finances.
At the same time, Gao Hong was being urged more and more frequently by Gao Li to act.
Finally, after searching the computer for what felt like the hundredth time, Gao Hong found what he had been looking for in a video folder.
In the video was footage of Gao Li killing Xi Yuanhan’s father years ago. Beside it was a document listing all the factions Gao Li had dealings with.
Gao Hong packed up the files and sent them to Gao Li.
About ten minutes later, Gao Li replied with a single word: “Received.”
Gao Hong let out a long breath—his mission was finally complete.
Stepping into the hallway, he saw Liang Shaomei chatting and laughing downstairs. He couldn’t help but smile.
“Xiao Gao, come down and have some fruit!” Liang Shaomei called up to him.
Gao Hong went downstairs. Bai Tang handed him a fruit bowl filled to the brim, smiling warmly. “Here, for you.”
“Thank you.”
Bai Tang wasn’t a difficult person to get along with. Other than being a little quiet in the beginning, he had never really made things hard for Gao Hong.
Looking at the boy’s bright smile, Gao Hong silently said in his heart, I’m sorry.
That night, everyone in the Bai household had fallen asleep—everyone except Bai Tang.
The little squirrel was hiding under the covers, talking on the phone with Xi Yuanhan.
“A Han, when are you coming back?” The boy pouted, his eyes shimmering with unshed tears. “I haven’t seen you for four whole days~”
The soft, milky voice of his little sweetheart flowed into Xi Yuanhan’s heart like a warm current, washing away the exhaustion of his long day.
“I’m sorry, I’ve been really busy lately… but I miss you too, Tang Tang.”
His voice was gentle and tender. Even if they couldn’t see each other, just hearing his voice was enough to bring comfort.
As Xi Yuanhan softly told him a bedtime story, drowsiness gradually crept over Bai Tang, and his eyes slowly fluttered shut.
“Tang Tang, are you asleep?”
The only reply Xi Yuanhan received was the boy’s light, steady breathing.
Xi Yuanhan’s eyes softened, filled with tenderness and affection. He didn’t hang up the phone. Instead, he kept it on, listening quietly to Bai Tang’s breathing as he continued his work.
He copied the financial transaction data between Gao Li and his private business partners and sent it to Jiang Xue, who was abroad.
These were files Xi Yuanhan still had access to. Using his technical skills, he had cracked Gao Li’s password and retrieved the information—enough evidence to utterly destroy Gao Li if it were made public.
Not long after the data was sent, Jiang Xue replied with a shocking message.
Bai Kangsheng had been captured overseas by Gao Li’s men. The so-called “major business negotiation” had been nothing but a trap orchestrated by Gao Li from the very start.
After discovering that Bai Kangsheng might be holding evidence that could incriminate him, Gao Li began plotting—his goal was to lure Bai Kangsheng out of the country, find the evidence, and then silence him for good.
Just as Gao Li’s men were about to make their move, Jiang Xue—who had been keeping a close watch on Bai Kangsheng—intervened and rescued him.
He knew how much Xi Yuanhan cared for that boy from the Bai family. For all he knew, Bai Kangsheng might one day become Xi Yuanhan’s father-in-law. Though reluctant, Jiang Xue still chose to save him.
Jiang Xue genuinely cared for Xi Yuanhan. He didn’t want Bai Tang to grow resentful or distant from Xi Yuanhan in the future once the truth came to light. That was why he decided to meddle in this affair.
Xi Yuanhan’s heart sank.
If Gao Li had made a move against Bai Kangsheng, that meant he could no longer tolerate the Bai family—Tang Tang was in danger.
In a flash, Xi Yuanhan shot to his feet, startling his colleagues who had just returned to the company after a late-night snack.
“What’s wrong, Xiao Bai? You look like you’re in a hurry—did something happen?”
Xi Yuanhan had no time for small talk. He shut down his computer and dashed out.
“Tang Tang, wake up! Tang Tang—!” he shouted into the phone, only to run straight into Gao Li at the company entrance.
“Ah, Xiao Bai, just in time. Come in—President Li is here tonight. We’re having a meeting.”
A meeting in the middle of the night—whatever it was, it couldn’t be anything good.
“President Gao,” Xi Yuanhan said tightly, “I have an urgent matter. I have to leave right now.”
President Li gave Gao Li a mocking smile. “President Gao, seems your leadership isn’t quite up to par.”
Feeling humiliated in front of Li, Gao Li’s face darkened with rage. Furious, he refused to let Xi Yuanhan go.
Meanwhile, on the other end of the call, Bai Tang woke up amid the frantic shouts of Xi Yuanhan, Qiu’er, and Xiao A.
The room was filled with smoke. Before he could cover his mouth, Bai Tang inhaled several choking breaths of it and started coughing violently.
“Cough—cough—there’s… so much smoke…”
Hearing the boy’s coughing, Xi Yuanhan grew frantic and tried to force his way out.
It was late at night; the company was nearly empty. Both Gao Li and President Li could clearly hear the sounds coming through the phone.
Their years of experience and sharp instincts told them one thing—Xi Yuanhan could not be allowed to leave. If he did, something catastrophic would happen.
“A Han, there’s a fire—cough—” Bai Tang opened his bedroom door. Thick smoke billowed in. From the corridor, he could see flames devouring the furniture below.
“Don’t be scared, Tang Tang. Go to the bathroom—soak yourself with water…”
At that, Gao Li finally understood what was happening.
A fire. Tang Tang. Whether coincidence or not, Gao Li couldn’t let Xi Yuanhan leave—no matter what. The consequences would be disastrous.
“President Li, restrain this guy!” Gao Li barked, moving to block him from both sides.
But Xi Yuanhan was no pushover. Years of physical training kicked in as he fought back with precision and strength.
They clashed in the corridor—“Bang!”—a loud crash echoed as the glass door at the company entrance shattered.
Colleagues inside looked up in shock, seeing Gao Li rise from the shards, still grappling with Xi Yuanhan.
“Call the police! Hurry, call the police!” someone shouted. Whatever the situation, calling the police was the safest bet.
At the Bai residence.
Aunt Zhang was getting on in years and couldn’t stay up late. She had gone to bed early. By the time the fire broke out, she was already in a deep sleep. Inhaling too much smoke, she soon lost consciousness.
Liang Shaomei and Gao Hong were luckier—they were young and used to staying up late.
But even they discovered the fire too late. When they opened the door, the flames outside had already sealed off the escape route.
Liang Shaomei’s room had a private bathroom. She rushed inside, soaked the bedsheets and towels, wrapped a wet towel around her mouth and nose, and charged toward Aunt Zhang’s room.
“Aunt Zhang! Aunt Zhang, wake up! The house is on fire!”
No matter how hard Liang Shaomei banged on the door, there was no response from inside.
At that moment, Gao Hong followed the sound and met her at Aunt Zhang’s door.
“She’s not answering me at all. The door’s locked—I can’t get it open,” Liang Shaomei said.
“Let me do it.”
Gao Hong, who had been trained in martial arts, kicked the door several times until it burst open.
Aunt Zhang was lying on the bed, unconscious.
“Take her out,” Liang Shaomei said. “I’m going upstairs to find Tang Tang.”
There was still Bai Tang upstairs—she couldn’t just leave him behind.
Without another word, she ran upstairs.
The Bai family’s mansion was equipped with a fire alarm system, of course. But this fire had been deliberately set. Whoever did it wanted no survivors, and the alarm system had already been sabotaged.
The fire spread quickly. It was sheer luck that Gao Hong managed to carry Aunt Zhang out of the burning house. When he tried to turn back, it was already too late—the front door was engulfed in flames. Looking closely, he could even smell the sharp scent of gasoline.
Gao Hong’s heart sank. If he still couldn’t figure out what was happening at this point, he really would be a fool.
Gao Li wanted to eliminate all witnesses—including him.
The flames grew fiercer. Upstairs, Liang Shaomei rushed into Bai Tang’s room, only to see him completely drenched, crouched on the balcony.
“Sister Xiaomei~”
“Don’t be scared, don’t be scared. Sister Xiaomei’s here—we’ll get out, I promise.” She soothed him gently while scanning the room for anything that could help them escape.
Qiu’er and Xiao A could protect Bai Tang for only a short while. Their energy was nearly depleted, used up in keeping his soul stable—they no longer had enough to activate their transfer ability.
Liang Shaomei tore the bedsheets into strips, twisted them into a rope, and secured one end to the balcony railing, preparing to climb down with Bai Tang.
But Liang Shaomei was only human. Even with basic protection, she couldn’t avoid inhaling the thick smoke.
By the time everything was ready, her breathing had grown ragged, and her vision was starting to blur.